BREAKTHROUGHS
Although the motor functions of the arm are not overly complex,
the use of the piezoelectric effect in the arm, and the processor are not
yet in existence. Unlike many inventions, the Piezo-Sensory arm's development
will depend on several technological advances.
In order to develop the Piezo-Sensory arm, scientists first
need better understanding of the nervous system. The arm depends on the
processor to be able to understand the pulses of the nervous system. By
doing extensive research of the nervous system, scientists can understand
these pulses and decipher the different kinds of pulses and what they want
the body to do. This cannot only lead to the development of superior prosthetics,
but also greater medical technology in other fields.
In the Piezo-Sensory arm, the crystals will be under a lot
of strain. Every movement of
the arm will slowly deteriorate the crystals, therefore the damage or snapping
of the
crystals can be quick and is inevitable. However, we can significantly increase
the crystals
durability by integrating it with different materials, but to do this, we
need greater
knowledge about materials engineering for piezoelectric crystals. The fact
that this is also
a solid-state system will also ensure that the piezoelectric crystals will
have a very long life
span and probably out last all other systems of the arm.
In order for the Piezo-Sensory arm to be developed efficiently,
we need better miniaturization of electronics. Our current technology on
electronic miniaturization is enough to develop the arm, however it would
not be too efficient. With better miniaturization of electronics we can
make the equipment more efficient, and therefore also lowering the prices
of the arm. If the miniaturization of electronics progresses quickly, scientists
may even be able to add more feedback from the arm.